


The Unexpected Pop Of Things

by Did_you_see_the_light_in_my_heart



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dan is losing it, Gen, Mojave Desert, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Wing Reveal, season 2 ending, slow build friendship, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-08-24 13:57:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16641480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Did_you_see_the_light_in_my_heart/pseuds/Did_you_see_the_light_in_my_heart
Summary: Theres a witness to Lucifers kidnapping and as a result a second victim of the act.As Daniel Espinoza plots the escape of an unconscious Devil and himself, there comes the unexpected pop of things to fuck everything up.“Fuck!” He shouted again.It was so like the bastard to sleep peacefully while Dan was losing his mind.He held in a strangled cry. Someplace in the back of his mind he guessed he deserved this after so many bad things he'd done in life.





	1. PART ONE: An Unruly Kidnapping

CHAPTER 1: SOMETHING AS EQUALY DRAMATIC

 

There was a sharp pain in the back of his head and a gentle rocking beneath his body as he lay against the hard metal surface.

Dan was instantly confused, but the thousand warning flags that flashed in his mind allowed him to keep still. His breath was even, his eyes were closed. The perfect picture of sleep.

Okay. What had happened?

He recalled going with Chloe to the hospital so she could visit Linda. He had wanted to stay outside and think, take a deep breath and sort out his feelings on the whole ordeal, on Charlotte.

His thoughts were on her “amnesia”. He was 95% sure the woman had faked the sudden, conveniently selective, condition. To remember absolutely nothing of her time working for the LAPD and even denying knowing her step-son? He could understand the rest, he knew she had used him, but denying Lucifer like that seemed almost cruel.

He had been thinking, but… someone had been there. He had seen Lucifer a ways off, talking on the phone as Dan himself leaned by the hospital’s entrance. Then… then someone had assaulted the consultant.

The stranger had hit Lucifer so hard that Dan had been able to hear the crack of his skull from where he was. He ran… he had tried to stop the masked man, but he’d had Grade-A military training.

He couldn’t remember much else.

Dan opened his eyes slowly, showing no other signs that he had woken up, the cop in him always front and center in dangerous situations.

He was in a dark truck, a few rays of yellow and orange light flickered from time to time from outside and voices chattered quietly from the front cabin.

He breathed in and out in a constant, soothing motion to calm his nerves. His arms were tied with a plastic zip behind his back; his shoulders already ached with the strain. As he began to sit up, slowly so no one would know, he noticed his feet were tied too. God, was he out of it.

He shook his head a little and his eyes landed on the other motionless body in the truck. Lucifer was as unconscious as he had been, his hair tousled and his clothes rumpled. A dark, ugly bruise was blooming underneath his black curls.

Dan winced in sympathy, it looked painful. His eyes traveled over his body to check for other wounds and was surprised to realize his companion was not bound like him, instead his arms lay by his head and his body was positioned almost in peaceful slumber.

He remembered something then, a sudden awareness he’d had at one point. He’d woken up groggy, the truck in motion and Lucifer’s face close to his. Two men crouched by the Brit, one sticking a needle into his arm and pushing the plunger, then he had gotten out another one and repeated the action… and then another one… and another one.

“No, stop.” He had slurred, trying to get up as one of the men picked up yet another syringe.

Dan remembered he’d been scared, fear gripping his heart, because whatever drug it was they were pumping into him was going to kill him. As much of a resilience as Lucifer had to narcotics and outrageous amounts of liquor, it was _too_ much.

He’d blacked out again after a swift kick to the face from one of the kidnappers. Who knows how long it’d been since then, or where they were. or where they were headed. Who were these people? What did they want with Lucifer?

He sighed tiredly and shut his eyes tightly. With all the things the Consultant had his fingers into and his own damned luck, it was probably something as shady as the mob or something as equally dramatic.

God, Chloe was going to kill them.

 

 

* * *

 CHAPTER 2: SO LIKE THE BASTARD

 

After several hours of driving, the sun blazing through the truck’s cracks, Dan was beyond thirsty and his bladder had had an uncomfortable tightness to it for at least two hours now.

“How much longer?” Dan turned his attention to the people in the front cabin, it was the first time they had discussed something of relevance. That in itself told him they were used to this sort of work, it’d become natural to them.

“Few hours, don’t you start now.” Warned who Dan assumed was the driver.

“M’ not. Geez.” Whined the other.

The sound of a bag of chips being opened met Dan’s ears, followed by loud crunching..

“Anyway, should we strip the bastard now?” Asked the copilot. “You know, just to be done with it and drop ‘im.”

“I suppose,.” agreed the driver. “By the time we get there the sun’ll be hot as hell.”

The other man chuckled and Dan rolled his eyes, already expecting that.

“Hot as hell, get it? Because the man in the back’s name is Lucifer?”

“Yeah, yeah. Very funny,” snorted the driver.

Passing over a crater in the road, Dan banged his head on the wall. He bit his lip to hold in a moan of pain.

“What about our hitchhiker?” Asked the driver with a tired sigh.

“We can just dump him with the club owner, no big deal,” said the copilot.

“Not part of the actual deal, man. We don’t even know who that asshole is.”

Dan held his breath and hoped the worst they would do was drop him wherever they were going to drop Lucifer. Worst case scenario, someone wanted the Consultant alive and no one needed Detective Espinoza’s extra weight and he’d get a bullet to the head.

He sighed and tried calming his nerves again.

“Hey, if you don’t have a better idea, let’s just dump the guy ‘n the same place.” Complained the copilot as he munched his chips.

“Fine,” huffed the other. “Let me pull over so you can get this done. Strip the other guy while you’re at it. That’ll be a fun surprise.”

Chip guy sighed in exasperation as the truck parked, but got out without much complaining.

With quick, quiet movements, Dan laid back down and closed his eyes. He had to think this through carefully, take the best chance to escape. Now wasn’t the moment, though, Lucifer was still unconscious and who knew how long he would be with the amount of stuff they pumped into him.

Oh, they were in so much trouble…

The doors opened and Dan felt the light of the sun hitting his face. He kept calm as his training kicked in.

“Damn, this guy is hot,” whispered the man.

The detective heard him moving around, what sounded like shoes dropping and then more movement. He heard fabric shifting and flesh hitting the metal floor. Dan winced internally at what he thought must be the manhandling of the consultant.

Then there was a sudden rush of something, a popping sound, something big hitting the metal of the truck with incredible force, the shout of the copilot and the feeling of something soft pressing tightly against him.

Dan’s eyes opened as he startled at the sight.

A bunch of pure white feathers were pressed right up to his nose. Slowly he began seeing the bigger picture; the feathers as a whole of something other- that something being a ginormous wing. He followed the appendage to the source and his heart stopped, the air escaping his lungs; the limb disappeared underneath Lucifer’s naked back.

“Fuck!” He struggled to sit up and distance himself from the atrocity until his back collided with the corner wall and he couldn’t get any further.

“Fuck!” He shouted again.

It was so like the bastard to sleep peacefully while Dan was losing his mind.

His attention was ripped from the suddenly six-limbed man in front of him by the angry, panicked shouting outside.

“I don’t want to touch it!” the copilot exclaimed.

“We are getting rid of the freak! I don’t care what you want and don’t want! _Get in the car!_ ” Replied the diver.

“No! NO! Let’s just leave it in the road!”

Dan didn’t know what happened then, he became distracted by the impossible creature in front of him that blocked his way out- not that he _could_ get out, tied as he was.

It was a strange thing, like the feathers had a magnetic pull to them. His breath stilled as his eyes were drawn to each individual vane.

Dan sighed out.

The wings they… they were beautiful.

When he broke out of his transfixed state, the truck was already moving, but wherever they were it wasn’t the paved road anymore. Dan took a shaky breath in when he realized he’d lost time while enchanted by the… wings.

The two men in the cabin discussed something in furious whispers, sounding like they were losing their minds. Dan could relate.

He pressed himself harder against the corner and away from the thing in front of him, the thing that was _Lucifer Morningstar_ , for heaven’s sake.

“Heaven…” Dan whispered. “Oh God.” A sudden, horrified realization of who was with him in the back of a truck being kidnapped came to him. “Fuck.” He whispered with a chocked sob as fear filled him and he pressed harder against the metal.

The truck rocked them violently; it made the wings bumble around in its crammed state. Through his fear, Dan thought it looked painful, stuck in different angles as they tried to fall in a more natural position; like trying to shove a bird into a too small cage.

As his catholic childhood returned to him full force, Dan began mumbling a prayer under his breath, hoping against hope that the Devil would never wake up while he was there.

One can only dream.

 

 

* * *

 CHAPTER 3: THE MOTHERFUCKING DEVIL’S IN DETAILS

 

The truck stopped. Quickly and efficiently, to the credit of the two men having the mental breakdowns of their lives, they opened the back and dragged the angel-man out by his feet. Dan, who was still pressed into the farthest corner of the truck, watched as they worked.

The kidnappers made no more effort than dragging the unconscious body a few feet away from the truck, the white feathers dragging through the dirt and rising to the opposite direction they were supposed to be in disarray. As if Lucifer were a leper, they let go of his feet and quickly scrambled away.

“Just dump him with the other!” Instructed the driver as he climbed back into the truck.

Dan realized they were talking about him, but before he had time to think he was face down on the hard ground. Soon, the only thing left from their captors was the dust left behind from their mad escapade, hopefully to someplace where they’d never have to see something like this again.

Dan breathed in and out through his mouth and felt the rising panic move from the base of his stomach to his heart and lungs.

He was alone, in the middle of the desert, with the motherfucking _devil_.

His first instinct was to follow the example of their perpetrators and make a mad dash from the body, but he was tied like a pig about to be slaughtered. He tried wiggling away, but with his hands behind his back it was an impossible task.

He held in a strangled cry. Someplace in the back of his mind he guessed he deserved this, he’d done so many bad things in his life it was just a matter of time for karma to come a knocking.

More like the _actual devil_ in person.

“No need to panic. Everything’s fine.” Dan said to himself, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. “He’s still out, you have time.”

Like _hell_ he was going to let the sucker catch him if he could avoid it.

He found a sharp enough rock after a few, shaky moments, and went to work.

He had done this before; he knew it was to break plastic ties, but he’d kind of forgotten _how_ hard it was.

He worked his hands up and down, up and down and whined every time a painful spike ran through his shoulders and arms. Dan could feel the plastic splitting and he pulled his wrists apart for a few second’s until the tie snapped.

The tie was stuck to his skin where it had been rubbed raw. He peeled the thing off and got to work on his feet.

He worked tirelessly, his body pumping with adrenaline, his eyes never leaving the slumped body a few feet from him. The not-man who had worked with him and his wife for so long now, who spent at least half of the time Dan did with his daughter. His _daughter_. This creature had wormed itself into the lives of Chloe and Trixie.

Half of him was scared shitless and the others half kept being pulled in by the radiance of the feathers. The fascination he had to them only fueled his fear more.

A few heart wrenching minutes later, the tie snapped, and Dan ran.

 

 

* * *

 CHAPTER 4: KIND-OF-PROBABLY

 

The adrenaline lasted him about fifteen minutes that allowed him to run nonstop. Then his feet caught and the world shifted off its axis as he stumbled and fell.

He laid on the ground leaning on his forearms, heaving for breath, struggling to just… make sense of the world again.

His head was in disarray, he couldn’t think about anything, couldn’t rationalize what was happening in his life. His heart rattled madly inside his ribcage and it wasn’t just because of his escape from the creature and into the dessert.

Dan was _scared_. Not because the frightening new information he had learned had settled in, but because something else had- something feral and instinctual. That fight or flight that everyone had in their veins. That which kicked in when the moment came. And when you couldn’t fight your opponent you _ran_. You ran and hoped you were fast enough to escape before whatever was after you caught up.

The ground was rough beneath his palms, pebbly and dry.

In his eyes flashed big, muscled appendages covered in a soft material so white it hurt to look at it. In his mind’s eye he was a child again, exploring his grandparents ranch. A bird had crashed into the kitchen window and when he had gone out to see, it’s chest rising and falling, it’s tawny wings perfect with disheveled feathers as a consequence of the collision.

He shook his head slightly at the memory and looked at the deserted land. He felt disheartened. He didn’t know where he was or where to go. The closest thing to a sense of direction Dan had was that he knew where the sun set in LA and he could _kind-of-probably_ follow its path to reach the city, but it was a big leap of faith he honestly couldn’t take.

He had no water, no food, nothing at all. How far away was the city- or any civilization? Hours? Days?

Dan hid his face between his knees and placed his arms over his head, stifling a sob. He kept this position for a few minutes, the blazing sun burning his skin painfully as sweat rand down his neck.

He breathed. In… Out… In… Out…

Hot wind blew and ruffled his hair and clothes but alleviated the burning somewhat. Dan raised his head and looked with beady eyes back at his tracks.

A shiver ran through his body and behind his eyes flashed another image of the huge white wings.

Back there lay Lucifer, the real deal, a being that could probably destroy him on a whim. In the opposite direction was the desolate waste of the desert and if he was honest with himself, probably certain doom.

He closed his eyes and felt the fear that gripped at his heart squeeze a bit more. He lost his breath for a moment at the thought of the man.

Better the devil you know, though, right?

Dan stood up and dusted his jeans. He closed his eyes and with a shaky sigh he began his journey back to where he had started.

He was probably going to regret this…


	2. PART TWO: Of Second Thoughts On Cosmic Perception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abril: At last, the long awaited (?) second part! A ton of gratitude to all those who reviewed and faved! And them silent readers of course ;)

CHAPTER 5: KINDEST OF THE SCENARIOS

 

The trek back took him about forty-five minutes. He didn't know if he had run that fast or if he was purposely delaying his inevitable encounter with… The Prince of Darkness.

That kind of made him wonder if Lucifer was really a prince? Or maybe a king? He was king of hell, right? Because if he were a prince, then there would have to be a higher, darker power than him, wouldn't there?

Before he realized, he was back. On the ground, right where he had left him and not an inch out of place, was Lucifer.

Dan didn't dare walk any closer than he was, but he did take a moment to study the man. Creature? Being? Thing…

His heart stuttered again. Lucifer's face was lax, peaceful in a way he hadn't seen very often. His usually tame and perfectly arranged hair curled over his head. His wings rested against his back, one closed and the other stretched lazily by his side.

The same memory of the tawny bird assaulted him, the rise and fall of its chest as it moved by proxy its wings. Lucifer's chest was just the same, stretching and contracting, the white wings following the motion. The scene was almost peaceful to look at.

The luring pull of the creature was broken and Dan took a sudden step back. He inhaled a shaky breath and the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck rose eerily. He was too close to it,  _way_  too close to be comfortable.

After placing a bit more distance between them, Dan pondered on what to do next. He felt perhaps he really hadn't thought this through. In the desert he would've been lost and probably dehydrated before he could find anyone or anything. Here? It was probably just as bad. And really, he didn't have the courage to wake up the devil so they could both leave.

Well… not that said Devil would have to help him… he could simply take flight and… leave him to his fate in the desert. That actually seemed like the kindest of the scenarios that had crossed Dan's mind. Most of them culminated in a gruesome death after the Lord of Hell had a bit of fun before returning to L.A. to con people into believing he was a simple, if dick-ish, human.

He rubbed his eyes in frustration and fear, running his hands up and down his face.

He would wait it out, he decided. He'd wait until the Devil woke and see what happened next.

He looked around for anything that would offer him a bit of shade and found a group of tall Yucca plants some meters away. Dan walked towards them and sat down with a sigh. Without taking his eyes of the winged creature, he waited.

Time passed, a few hours he figured. Dan had remembered how much he had wanted to pee on the truck and those first hours of being kidnapped that now seemed so far away it was almost ridiculous.

After relieving himself, he turned to the Yuccas and looked at Lucifer. He hadn't moved much aside from the constant motion of his chest and the occasional twitch from one of the wings.

The Detective had discovered it wasn't the best of ideas to stare at the extra limbs for long. After a while, they pulled at his consciousness like a hypnotist. They burned his eyes as well, similar to the effect caused by looking directly at snow or a white sheet under the glare of the sun- blinding.

The biggest problem though, was that Lucifer hadn't woken up. Half of Dan sighed in relief every time he thought about it, but the other argued that he needed to get out. Another smaller and quieter part of him wondered about all the things that could go wrong once the Devil woke up, but he swallowed those thoughts and stayed.

Taking a deep breath, he walked closer to the unconscious creature, struggling to take the last few steps as his heart beat inside his chest a crazy rhythm by the name of "Fear".

Finally, Dan stood beside the body and, after a moment, crouched. He raised his hand and with trembling fingers reached for the shoulder- the sun had begun to peal the skin off of it, it looked raw and painful. Dan laid his hand on the other and sighed harshly, swallowing his fear back.

"Lucifer." He said in a quiet voice as he gave the man a slight shake.

Nothing.

"Lucifer." He shook his shoulder harder but the only result was the shift of one of the wings.

Dan stilled as the feathers made light contact with his wrist. He stood still for a few seconds, and for a moment, his rational mind left him. Shifting his fingers slightly, he placed the tips on the elbow of the wing and traveled a light path down a few times.

He exhaled and took his hand away, returning to the task at hand, but as much as he tried, Lucifer just wouldn't wake up. The image of the many needles their kidnappers had injected him with returned and a ball of worry rested on Dan's chest.

Had Lucifer been just an eccentric and lightly delusional club owner, he would've died from whatever they had given him. A few hours ago Dan would have probably held back some tears for his would-be-friend and their tentative companionship. He didn't know anymore, but the violation to the man still made his stomach turn.

He  _knew_  Lucifer valued freedom above all else as much as he claimed sex, alcohol and drugs were better. Dan wasn't stupid, he could see how much the concept mattered to him, and wasn't that a weird thought? The Devil's biggest concern was his freedom and whether other people had it or not.

Dan stood and sighed despondently.

He looked up at the sky and saw the sun begin a slow trail down the sky.

 

 

* * *

CHAPTER 6: A SINGLE FACT

 

Night fell and Lucifer still hadn't woken up. Not on his own and not by any means the Detective had tried.

When the sun had been low and kinder, Daniel had found a Nopal with ripe Tunas. After carefully cleaning them of thorns with a sharp rock he'd found, Dan had eaten a few and the fruit had momentarily quenched his thirst and some of his hunger. He'd cleaned a few more for later and another few for Lucifer for when he woke up.

He'd felt stupid after, how could he offer the devil some fruit? Did he even need to eat?

Thoughts of inadequacies and things bigger than himself filled his mind as the sun hid behind the horizon and painted the sky in precious pinks, oranges and purples. And as the daylight went, another sort of light took place in the velvet dark.

Stars.

Dan occupied himself thinking and watching the celestial bodies move as slow as slow can be for a few hours. When he looked back down at the body on the sand from where he sat beside the Yucca, his mind stilled.

A slow wind blew Lucifer's hair and gently ruffled the white feathers that glowed softly in the dark. Dan stilled too.

How much a single fact affected his whole view of a person, of the world, it seemed almost silly. Without the wings he was just Lucifer, annoying consultant and partner of his used-to-be-partner. A man that loved pushing his buttons as much as he loved being surprised by Dan "The Douche".

His sort-of-friend, now was something else, a creature of evil and deceit… But in the dark of the night, as unnatural as he seemed, he looked more like the Lucifer he'd known than an otherworldly creature.

He too, enjoyed pushing the few buttons the man had, he too loved being surprised by the way Lucifer said his name when they were on better terms.

_Daniel._

Now, everything was different.

He shivered at the knowledge he now possessed and wondered if he'd ever get back home- be it by his own means or by otherworldly help. He kept thinking if it would be better to just leave now that the sun was gone and he could make his way across the desert without having a heatstroke.

Half of him wished Lucifer would just wake up so they could talk and figure things out. The other half hoped he never did and that the man slumbered his life away.

And then there was a minuscule part of him that hoped nothing had changed between them. Dan squashed that pathetic insect of a hope and closed his eyes against the winds of the desert.

 

 

* * *

CHAPTER 7: LIKE A VERY STUPID IDEA

 

The pleasant heat that had been left behind by the burning sun of the day began to gradually disappear. When Dan woke up from a restless sleep, he realized just how cold it had gotten. It was ridiculous. The sun had been burning his skin off all day, even under the shadows, now he couldn't stop shaking with the cold of it.

Lucifer maintained himself unbothered, lying as he'd been all day, chest down and wings half spread. Dan really didn't know if he could feel cold, but if he did, he was sure those enormous things where keeping the Devil warm.

He huffed in annoyance and huddled closer to himself.

Half an hour later he couldn't get back to sleep and the more he thought about it the more he shivered. All the while, and a strange thing indeed, he kept gazing at the feathery wings of Lucifer. Just  _thinking_  how warm they must be underneath.

He blushed and cursed himself under his breath for stupid thoughts like those.

Another 30 minutes went by and the running thought of  _cold_  inside Dan's head was unbearable.

It seemed like a very stupid idea. Stupid and dangerous and,  _dear God_ , why was he even thinking about it?

He took five minutes more of it until he stood up with a jump and walked decidedly towards the other. He stopped a few feet away from Lucifer, heart pounding again with fear.

A wind blew another shiver from the nape of his neck to his arms, it made Dan frown with determination. He crouched down, the pebbly ground crunching beneath his shoes, and after sending a prayer to the heavens in hope he would survive the experience, he laid down.

Gently he lifted one of the wings, Lucifer facing away from him, he sighed and inched closer, placing the feathery blanket on top of himself. The difference was instantaneous, a few moments later he sighed in relief.

He looked ahead and was greeted by the starry night sky, it had moved a lot since he'd last peeked at it. It was infinitely beautiful.

His body and mind betrayed him then, for when he closed his eyes he fell right down to sleep. In the distance, a song of howls broke free as a few coyotes played about under the light of the stars.

 

 

* * *

CHAPTER 8: YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO

 

The heat woke him.

Daniel opened his eyes, blue and big, immediately aware of where he was and how he'd gotten there. He inhaled silently and deeply, wondering  _how_  in all the seven hells he'd  _ever_  thought this was a good idea?

He shifted his eyes and exhaled a 'thank you' to the heavens when he looked at Lucifer and saw him still unconscious. Gently, he lifted the wing he was under and rolled away from the warmth of the other's body. He placed it down just as gently and paced away.

He looked around, the sun wasn't that high up yet, it barely topped the horizon, but the heat was already beginning to rise. Dan dreaded the day ahead and the smell of burning flesh that would undoubtedly be exuded by his skin.

He looked down at the creature of a man and the anxious worry from yesterday returned to him. Fear of the Devil wasn't the only thing he had for the man, he worried about the amount of drugs they had filled his blood with and wondered again if even beings of incredible power could be mortally affected by them.

But the chest of the Consultant still rose and fell, silent and constant. At the very least there was that.

Daniel took a deep breath and again prepared himself for the task.

"Lucifer? Come on, man, wake up." He shook the other's shoulder with force.

Nothing.

" _Lucifer_." Once again Dan shook him and when he got the same results he gave the man a few light pats on the cheek.

He sighed, brow wrinkled with worry.

"Hey, you know who'll be very pissed at you if you pull this off again?" He asked, trying to sound angry "Chloe, that's right. She's going to cut off your ball's for doing this to her again, you know. For  _abandoning_  her." When he received no answer he slapped the other hard and instantly backed away in case Lucifer decided to wake up.

Nothing.

Dan rubbed his face and grabbed at the ends of his hair, pulling in frustration.

This was  _bad_. If he left Lucifer's body here to get himself help and if he decided against all logic to return and it turned out the Club owner had  _died_ … Well, that was going to be on him. As much fear as he constantly had at what the man really was and what it all really meant, he didn't want Lucifer to  _die_. Not really.

Despite his track record and the  _situation_  with Malcom, it wasn't… it wasn't an easy thing he had done. Despite knowing what Lucifer truly was, leaving him to die – _could he even die?_ \- he didn't know if he could live with a decision like that again.

He bit into his fist and muffled a desperate sound. What was he going to do?

He looked at the sky, hoping for an answer, anything. If God was really out there, what would he want Daniel to do? Save his son? Leave him to his fate?

If God hated his son and wanted Dan to let him die, could he do that? He didn't think he could. Lucifer was… his friend.

Would he go to hell for that?

He shivered at the thought and closed his eyes when they started to burn.

No, even if that were true, Dan knew he would have gone to hell for other various reasons, all of them from long before he even met the Devil.

The detective's fate was his fault and no one else's. Whatever he'd done, he'd done it himself. There was no " _The Devil made me do it_ " and there never would be. At least not for him.

Daniel couldn't leave him. He resigned himself to wait again.

After his moment of panic had passed, he ate the last Tunas he had piled from yesterday and went looking for more. Just as he'd done the day before, although he felt silly, he cut and peeled a few more in case Lucifer woke up and needed to eat.

He sat down against the Yukka tree, knees bent and arms resting a top of them, the fruits beneath the shade on top of a dried leaf he'd found.

As he looked at Lucifer again, he cringed at the raw flesh on his back, shoulders and arms. Like thin old wallpaper, the skin lifted up and rolled at the edges of his wounds.

Just as he was thinking about the pros and cons of trying to move the large body underneath a bit of shade. He lost his breath in a surprised gasp and held very, very still.

It was like his nana had always said.

" _Careful for what you wish_ Mijito _, you might just get it, and if you get it, you might not know what to do with it."_

 _God_  does he wish he had listened.


	3. PART THREE: Why Are Desert Stories So Goddamed Boring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abril: Guess what I found?! My USB with the lost documents, it was, of course, in the silliest place. I truly appreciate all of your support and encouragement in these last few days of uncertainty and my usual slowness with posting. It really means the world. It has actually revived a little my interest for the story, so lets hope it lasts enough for me to decently finish it, yeah?
> 
> Without further ado, Daniel and Lucifer finally talk.

CHAPTER 9: THE CREATURE ROSE

 

For the first time, the limp body moved by its own volition.

It began with a shift of bare shoulders that moved the wings just slightly. Placing his arms underneath himself looked like a struggle as a deep uncomfortable breath rushed into the Devil.

The man made an effort to inhale and exhale and shifted again until he had the weight of his torso on his forearms.

Dan was frozen.

He was stuck in place as he had no other choice but to look at the back of the struggling Consultant- the Devil in the flesh.

_Oh God_. He thought as every little fear rushed into him again. He sat still.

A groan of pain and a held in whimper came from the other.

“What…?” Came the soft whisper of a word from the confused man.

The wings shifted and brushed over the ground. A tentative hand reached to touch them, when it did, the man lost it.

“ **No**.” Lucifer said in a harsh tone and then again more desperately. “No, no, no, _no_.”

With a gasp of pain the creature rose from the ground to his bare, burnt feet.

“You cannot do this you worthless piece of garbage!” He shouted at the sky as Dan watched wide eyed “ **No!** ” He said it with such force the Detective thought the ground had momentary trembled.

Anger was overtook by desperation as the Devil gripped a tuft of feathers and _pulled_. He pulled and yanked with a mixture of rage and urgency that had him turning in circles to get a better grip on the limb.

Dan went unnoticed.

The action went on for a moment until a ripping noise was heard, followed by a pained gasp, and the tall man let himself fall to his knees. A series of fast, deep breaths entered the Devil, a quiet sound like a sniff from holding tears in.

Sitting on his ass and grabbing at the flaring limb, Lucifer arranged himself on the ground and grabbed the same spot of rumpled feathers, his intent clear despite how obviously painful the previous action had been.

Just as he pulled once more, unable to hold another gasp of pain from his lips, Dan snapped into action without meaning to.

“ _Stop_.”

For a moment, everything was still.

Turning his head so fast another person would’ve gotten whiplash, the Devil looked back into troubled blue eyes.

“Daniel?” Came a confused inquiry that was soon replaced with a drowning realization. The dark eyes of the Devil widened.

Neither said a thing as they looked at one another. When Dan gathered himself, he repeated.

“Please _stop_.” The Detective said with a strangled whisper.

Apprehensive eyes looked at him, but the tight grasp that held onto the feathers slowly sloped down and let go.

 

  

* * *

 CHAPTER 10: DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD, DOUCHE

  

“So… I suppose you know now.” Lucifer said in a quiet, clear voice, never taking his eyes from the other.

Daniel nodded minutely, he was still sitting against the desert tree, frozen in place with his arms holding his knees. The Detective wet his lips and swallowed, preparing to speak, but there was nothing he could say.

Lucifer shifted then, but stopped, still as a marble statue when Dan flinched back almost unnoticeably.

The wings shifted against his back and pressed tightly in an effort to make themselves as unthreatening as possible. Lucifer inhaled a pained sound at the movement, but kept looking at Dan.

“I won’t hurt you, Daniel.” He said with a calm, soothing voice, calming the almost but not quite metaphorical animal. As things were, the comparison was not farfetched at all.

Dan nodded again and something in Lucifer’s voice made it so that his muscles untensed if just slightly.

“Are you okay?” Daniel asked and was just as surprised as Lucifer seemed; the words had left his mouth almost without his permission. “The… the men that took us drugged you,” he explained “like, _a lot_.”

“The men that took us?” Lucifer asked confused, but his face suddenly morphed in to a raged sneer. He stood up abruptly and stiffened, his pained groan morphing into a growl.

Dan was ignored again, but stood at the same time as the Consultant, his hand outstretched in front of him in an instinctively protective manner though it wouldn’t help much if it came down to it.

Lucifer stalked back and forth like a menacing feline, talking under his breath about ‘puny humans’ and ‘how dare they’ with quite a lot of blasphemy from what Dan could catch.

The Devil stopped in his tracks and turned to the Detective, Dan tensed, his body prepared to bolt at any given moment. Lucifer stalked closer but stopped again as the other took a few desperate steps back.

The creature before him took a deep breath and forced his burning temper down.

“Now, dearest douche,” the taller man said between his teeth. “Do you know what happened? Or have you been unconscious just as I?”

Dan visibly swallowed and looked the Devil in the eyes, careful to avoid the blindingly white limbs on his back in case he lost track of time again.

“We were at the hospital, remember? We went to see-“

“Linda.” They both said, Lucifer’s brown eyes filled with a deep sadness.

“Yeah,” Dan nodded. “She’d been badly hurt.” His body was still tense as he talked to the other, one hand on the tree behind him and the other still in front of him, lowered but cautious.

“I was outside, waiting for Chloe when I saw you and… there was a man there, he hit you with a bat. I ran to help you but he was _good_. Grade A military training.”

The Devil frowned in front of him as he acknowledged the information.

“I don’t remember much from then but… when I woke up next they were pumping you with drugs. I don’t know where they were taking us but, they freaked out when your…” Dan moistened his lips, apprehension in his face. “When your wings popped out.”

The Detective looked down and wondered how he had explained all that without stumbling over his words like a scared child. He wracked his brain again at his own words ‘ _when your wings popped out_ ’. If he’d thought his life was weird before, it didn’t hold a candle to the batshit crazy that was happening now.

“They dumped us in the desert as soon as they could,” he continued, looking back up. “I couldn’t stop them, they took your clothes, our phones. We’re basically stranded here.”

The Detective stood with his back to the tree as he kept a careful watch on everything the Devi did. Lucifer frowned slightly.

“I know this might seem quite alarming to you, Daniel, but I assure you, you have nothing to fear from me. I don’t want you losing your head over this tiny change of events, yeah?”

The man’s eyes bulged incredulously.

“ _Tiny_ change of events? **_Tiny_**?” Dan laughed without humor and a great deal of indignation. “Man, this is not ‘ _tiny_ ’. You’re… you’re the _freaking Devil_ , dude! What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Well, its not like I haven’t been honest about it.” Lucifer scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“No, wait a second; you knew damn well we all thought you were full of shit! You knew! You just let us believe whatever it was but the truth!”

“Don’t lose you head, Douche, remember?” The Devil reminded him, sneering at the other.

“Oh, I lost my head alright; you just were too unconscious to notice. No, no. I’ve had a _long_ time to adjust to this,” said the detective with fervor.

It was incredible how a disagreement could pull them both back to their usual animosity. It didn’t last though, because Dan’s words had given the Devil pause.

“How long have I been unconscious?” Lucifer frowned.

Daniel exhaled and crossed his arms, looking at the ground and thinking for a moment.

“If we count the ride here and the time we’ve been in the desert, I’d say about two to three days,” the Detective assessed.

“ _Shit_ ,” Lucifer hissed beneath his breath. “The Detective will skin me.”

“Well,” Dan sighed, “if it’s any consolation, you won’t be the only one.”

The fight was over then, both man and Devil aware that the last thing they needed now was to be at each other’s throats. Daniel rubbed his hands on his face and crouched beside the Yukka.

“Here.” He said as he picked up the few Tunas he had cleaned and with careful steps, closed the gap between the Devil and himself. His heart rattled inside his chest.

Lucifer looked curiously at him as the shorter man presented him the fruits.

“I… saved these for you, though I don’t know if you really need to eat…” He trailed off and just left his hands where the creature would be able to reach.

There was a surprised glimmer in his dark eyes and something else that Dan almost though could be sadness.

“Thank you.” he took two of the three Tunas and bit into one. “I can survive a _very_ long time without food and water, but that doesn’t mean my throat isn’t screaming at me for a drink of _anything_.” He chuckled and began eating the other one.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” Said the Detective and offered the last Tuna when Lucifer was finished “There’s a lot close by if you want more.”

The Devil nodded and dried his mouth with the back of his hand when he was done.

There was an awkward silence then, as nobody knew what to do next.

 

 

* * *

 CHAPTER 11: QUITE THE FEAT

 

“I guess you could fly home if you wanted.” Daniel suggested when they sort of got used to one another. He shut up promptly, however, at the fiery look the Devil shot him.

“Well, for your information Daniel, these detestable appendages are a new development. Last time I woke up they weren’t there.” He hissed slightly. “And I don’t want them there either, I had Maze cut them off for a reason.”

Dan’s breath left him. He could vividly remember their encounter with Boris at the bathhouse; the two huge, raw-looking scars covered almost the whole of his back. He’d never asked about them, it wasn’t his business, but Chloe had told him some.

“Your scars?” He asked and thanked God his voice was steady.

“Yes, my _scars_.” Lucifer looked at the sky with an anger so potent Dan could almost feel it. “And even if I wanted this feathery menaces, I wouldn’t be able to fly back to Los Angeles.” He mused “It’s been years since I’ve flown and movement is… well it’s rather painful.”

Daniel nodded, incapable of understanding, but able to imagine it perfectly fine. He looked at the opposite side of the sky where the sun rose.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Los Angeles is that way.” He pointed at the sky and Lucifer followed his finger then nodded.

“You’d be quite right about that.” The devil agreed and sighed. “Should we get a

move on then? I would love a hot bath and my bed as soon as possible.”

“God yes.” Dan almost moaned at the thought, he had dust in places were the sun didn’t shine.

“Wrong deity I’m afraid.” Lucifer scoffed without too much care. He backtracked, though when Dan coughed out of shock and doubled over with his hands on his knees.

“ _Fuck_.” Whispered the Detective.

Lucifer blinked.“I guess that has a whole new connotation, doesn’t it?”

“You think?” Dan asked exasperated, but it was like nothing had changed between them, he was still an insufferable ass.

“Okay.” The Detective took a deep breath in and righted himself. “Let’s go.”

With the sun on their backs, they began to walk.

The mood was ever so awkward as the silence stretched, accompanied by a few feet of distance between them.

The day moved on and with every step they took, the bright star climbed higher and higher into the sky, burning more every second than the one before.

Lucifer seemed to be handling it fine enough, even without a shirt and his body already covered with terrible burns, as if they were nothing more than an annoyance. His movements were graceful and his back held straight.

Dan on the other hand tried to hide his discomfort as the heat began roasting his face, neck and arms, his own skin beginning to peel off like the Consultant’s.

“Here,” the Devil said quietly and in a moment, the burning of the sun disappeared from his back.

Dan sighed silently in relief.

When he looked up there was a beautiful roof of white feathers over him.

His eyes caught on the light for a moment, mesmerized by the beauty of every individual sunlit vane and how they shone. As he closed his eyes he rushed to look away, mortified at what Lucifer would say about his sudden lapse of sense as he’d stared dumfounded at his wings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever given you enough credit.” Lucifer said quietly. “You might not know, but it’s quite the feat to ignore a heavenly sight, not many mortals can.”

Mortal, right, because that wasn’t the norm now.

Dan risked a look at his companion; there was no mocking face or sarcastic tone to him as the Devil looked ahead. When Dan kept quiet, Lucifer continued speaking.

“Some have lost their mind and their sense of time just by looking at them, so don’t take my words lightly, Daniel.”

“I won’t.” The Detective said after a moment. he looked ahead again and felt the slight brush of a feather on his head.

As they walked across the infinite expanse of desert, they said nothing more for a long time.

 

 

* * *

CHAPTER 12: AIN’T THAT JUST LIKE ME?

 

Mostly, they walked quietly. Lucifer’s insistence to cover him from the sun was heaven sent in every way possible. Daniel wouldn’t tell him, but he’d been having trouble breathing because of the heat.

Sometimes the feathers brushed against his skin, they were soft, softer than anything he’d ever felt. Like feathers but… different, other-worldly. The vanes brushed him and sometimes they distracted him from thinking too much.

Lucifer sang, too and not like he was used to. Dan had always heard him at the club, obnoxiously good and passionate, with the face of a man who _knew_ he was good, who he _knew_ there was no one in the room better than him. But this was not like any of that.

The devil sang without force, quietly and almost under his breath, just loud enough that Dan could listen to it perfectly. He didn’t seem to make an effort to make whatever he sang sound good, it was just the gentle song of someone trying to occupy their time.

“ _Look up here, I’m in heaven_ …” It was nice too, just listening to him as they made slow way across the barren land.

“… _I’ve got scars that can be seen_ …” The sun was in it’s very center and burning hard over them.

“… _I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen_ … _everybody knows me now_ …” Lucifer hummed a bit after that, almost sweetly and sang some more

Dan knew Lucifer had told him the sun would do him nothing compared to what it could do to the Detective, but sometimes he could swear he saw more bits of skin peeling off the man bit by agonizing bit.

“… _by the time I came to New York_ … _I was living like a king_ …” His shoulders and chest looked almost raw but Lucifer took it without complaint. Dan thought for a man who he was used to hearing whine ¾ of the time he spent with him, he was being awfully settled.

“… _this way or no way_ … _you know I'll be fre_ e _…just like that bluebird… now, ain't that just like me?”_ All of a sudden, it was quiet.

Lucifer stopped and Dan with him, keeping under the shadow of the wing.

“What is it Daniel?” He asked as he looked down at the Detective.

The Detective was almost put out by the quiet way Lucifer carried himself and laid his eyes on him. His voice rich as ever, whether it was in song or not.

Dan thought about it and for a moment he felt like he couldn’t take his eyes from Lucifer’s dark ones. It was like looking at the wings all over again. The feeling disappeared almost as unexpectedly as it had appeared.

“I… don’t know.” He answered honestly; everything was so out of order the world felt senseless now.

Lucifer nodded once and pointed with his chin to their inexistent road.

“Let’s keep a move on, with any luck we’ll find somewhere we can rest, or a road.”

They continued ahead. Dan’s legs ached from the long trek, but he said nothing.

Lucifer sang again.

“… _look up here, man, I'm in danger_ … _I've got nothing left to lose_ …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abril: I swear I’ll change the chapter title if I find something better.
> 
> Song Lucifer sings is Lazarus by David Bowie in his album Blackstar.
> 
> So, what do you guys think'll happen next?


End file.
